A Review of the Current Problems in California’s Workers’ Compensation System

Report #87, March 1988

OVERVIEW

The Commission’s original workers’ compensation study focuses on the system’s escalating costs, the expansion of liability into new and subjective areas of benefits, and the negative effects of the increasing cost of the system upon workers, employers and the State’s business climate.

The report contains eight findings and 13 recommendations. Foremost among these, the Commission recommends establishing written criteria for opening and closing workers’ compensation fraud and abuse cases; establishing a method for identifying employers who intentionally fail to report wages; and establishing a method of identifying employers who change business or corporate identities to avoid being properly rated.